itd EXPLOSIVE PRINCIPLES AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING EXPLOSIVES AND DETONATIONS Robert A. Sickler‘Portion of this book may be reproduced in any form ‘Without the express wrilien permission of the publisher, “Neither the author nor the publisher assumes. for the use or misuse of Contained in this book,Chapter One Introduction to Explosives Chapter Two Physics of Energetic Material Decomposit Chapter Three Explosive Material Chemistry 17 Chapter Four Physics of Explosives 25 Chapter Five Explosive Materials 39 Chapter Six Testing 53 Conclusion 57The procedures described in this manual and the resulting end products are extremely dangerous. Whenever dealing with high explosives, special precautions must be followed in accordance with industry standards for experimentation and production of high explosives. Failure to strictly follow such ind standards may result in harm to life and limb. ¢, the author, publisher, and distributors of im any liability from any damages or type that a reader or user of infor i within this book may encounter from information. Use the material manual and any end product or by- risk. mformation purposes only,Chapter One : INTRODUCTIO TO EXPLOSIVE > J _” ome of the most feared, misused, and least understood substances on the ‘ face of the earth are energetic mater’ @ *\s.\n the broadest sense, energetic materials can cover everything from combustibles to high explo- sives. One way of defining this wide range of materials is to consider ——«m_ them as stuff (compounds or mix- tures of compounds) that undergoes a change or, more accurately, a decomposition whieh results in the genera- tion of energy. The rate of change ean be the slow burn- ing of combustibles or the rapid chemical decomposition of a high-order explosive. Regardless of the type of energetic material, it cannot undergo a decomposition until sufficient energy has first been added to get the process started (ignition or initia- tion). The energy added to the material can be in the form of heat, impact, friction, shock, or any combination. of these energy sources (See Fig. 1)- Once a material starts to undergo decomposition, it also begins to change into new material. The new materi- al is said to be in a more stable state, or is less energetic, than the original material. For instance, when a piece of paneer INTRODUCTION TO EXPLOSIVES LFRICTION —— _ Methods of energetic rnaterial initiation, anges into smoke and ashes, which are Therefore, the burning of wood produced lal, or a more stable type of stuff. Gases (kind of like smoke) and minor amounts of residue (kind of like ashes), all of which are accompa- nied by the release of vast amounts of heat. This rapid production of gases from the of an explosive results in the formation Sure Zone in the area where decompos Place. This is an important concept because this generation of pressure is o: decomposition ofa high-pres- ‘ition is taking to understand ne of the things eee 2 EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERINGwe want to put to use. For example, i! material is inside of some closed or partially. tainer (a hole in the ground, a building, et: pressure formed by decomposition could be large. to push the container apart. Out in the open, the sure, if built up fast enough, will push agains! and move or destroy them, kind of like a strong wind, On the other hand, if the decomposition of the getic material is extremely fast, the area of decom} tion is preceded by shock or siress waves which move out through the surrounding media (while pressure is also being built up in the area of decomposition). Of impor- tance to us is the fact that this shock wave contains so much energy that it will break things around it. The shock wave, unlike pressure, does not push against an object; it actually enters the object and breaks it apart from the inside. It is this combination of pressure and shock-wayve generation that makes energetic materials both useful and hazardous. In the preceding paragraph, the general publics con- cept of an explosion (decomposition fast enough to gener- ate pressure or pressure and shock) was introduced. In more scientific terms, if the decomposition of energetic material occurs at a rate greater than the speed of sound, the decomposition process is called detonation. When an energetic material is capable of undergoing detonation- type decomposition, that energetic material is called a high explosive. The actual speed at which the detonation moves (propagates) through the energetic material is referred to as the material’s detonation velocity, and itis often used as a tool for classification of high explosives. If, on the other hand, the energetic material under- goes decomposition atarate less than the speed of sound, the decomposition process is called deflagration (superfast burning). Energetic materials that decompose through deflagration are referred to as low explosives, and they do not generate a shock wave. A general rule of thumb for the dividing line between detonation and INTRODUCTION TO EXPLOSIVES: 3velocity of about 3,000 n rate is very slow, itis referred to burning. Combustion is the normal tion for materials (for the most part that have been ignited. In most cases of there is very little, if any, pressure generat- , as in almost all things, there are exceptions e, and under special conditions both energetic ergetic materials can be made to burn, defla- or detonate.Chapter Two PHYSICS OF ENERGETIC MATERIAL DECOMPOSITION > J nderstanding the physical process of an explosion requires a brief look at the physies associated with energetic @ material decomposition. The key physi- cal parameters associated with this decomposition are heat, pres- sure, and shock. In this chapter, the interaction and interdependency of ———— these parameters will be discussed. DEFLAGRATION Deflagration of energetic materials is an exothermic redox reaction. In more common terms, it is a reaction that, once initiated, generates sufficient energy to sus- tain the reaction. The actual physics of initiation of energetic materials is very complex and beyond the scope of this text. Itis sufficient to know that ignition occurs when an external energy source introduces ener- gy to an energetic material, causing hot spots to form on or in the material. Figure 2 is a microscopic representation of a near-sur- face cross section of energetic material. The stippled rectangles represent the general nonhomogenous (made up of more than one type of stuff) and nonisotropic (stuff PHYSICS OF ENERGETIC MATERIAL DECOMPOSITION iMICROSCOPIC SS EN Figure 2. Introduction of energy, Tepresent those sections of material that are most Susceptible to the external eney- __ 8y that is being introduced. If the energy was heat, por- __ haps from an adjacent fir e, the crosshatched leks be those portions of the material mos; e to heat energy. Whateve: t Suscepti- x the external Source of - energy, itis important to re m of energy with energetic materi cognize that the initia) al may not mM process, are three basic 8 into hot spots: (1) methods for turning sensitive compression of the explosive EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERINGmaterial can cause adiabatic compression bles entrapped within the explosive mixture; (2): tion or movement of the material can cause fi heating when the surfaces of solid ingredients are together; and (8) rapidly flowing materials can viscous heat as they are forced through the expl most cases of deflagration, there will be more than hot-spot generation mechanism at work. The resuli hot spot initially is very small (10 *to 10 *em in diameter, or .001 to .00001 cm) relative to the explosive mixture’s overall volume. Although unlikely, if there were no sensi- tive areas or voids in the explosive mixture, hot spots could not form and thus no explosion would occur. When this does happen (often due to overcompaction), the explosive is considered as being dead-pressed. Once the energetic material has been exposed to exter nal energy and hot spots have been generated, the sur- face of the material will soon reach temperatures high enough to volatilize it. Generally, this process, called the induction lag or ignition time delay, occurs in avery short period of time (measured in microseconds), There is no standard lag time for explosive material since the indue- tion lag is dependent on the composition of the explosive mixture. As an example, the liquid, nitroglycerin, begins to vaporize at only 140°R, whereas the solid, sulphur, requires around 500°F to volatilize. With the deflagration process underway, the ener- getic material environment tales on a definite layered character (Fig. 3). Because the flame zone is the heat source that perpetuates volatilization of the explosive, it can be viewed as the key layer. The hotter the flame zone, the more rapid the rate of volatilization and thus the more rapid the rate of decomposition, The gases produced by deflagration of the explosive create a pres- sure zone that expands into the surrounding media. The pressure experienced in this zone is proportional to the rate of deflagration and to the degree of confine- ment of the energetic material. ee PHYSICS OF ENERGETIC MATERIAL DECOMPOSITION Th:FLAME ZONE RISING TEMP ZONE Figure 3. Deflagration zones. Ifthe energetic material is unconfined (Cin other words, it is sitting out in the open), pressure within the EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERINGA good example of deflagration black powder rifle. To represent unconfin tion, 2 normal load of black powder, app grams, is placed on the ground. A lead bullet is | the pile of powder and the powder is ignited. Uy tion a large cloud of gases will be created and noise will oceur, but the lead bullet will barely be: Decomposition took place, but the unconfined pres: zone never reached a level high enough to force the | zone toward the surface of the black powder. If, however, the same amount of powder were placed jnto arifle and a bullet firmly placed on top of the powder, the energetic material would be confined. Ignition of the powder will produce a considerable noise, and the bullet will be thrown a long distance. What has happened is that the deflagration process remained confined untilit had generated a pressure sufficient to move the bullet down the barrel of the gun. This small increase im pres- gure forced the flame zone closer to the explosive and increased the rate of deflagration. The increased rate of deflagration produced a more powerful release of energy than the decomposition of the unconfined pile of powder. Tn the above example, the lead bullet had been secured in the rifle so that it could not be moved, the deflagration process could have become a detonation-type decomposi- tion, Although it is uncommon fora low explosive to expe- rience detonation, it can happen under the proper condi- tions. In most cases the low explosive must be confined in such a way that the pressure zone’s pressure increases to a point where the flame zone js driven into the energetic material. This is referred to as a convective flame front and is characterized by the propagation of hot combustive gases through the pores ofthe explosive. For example, if a strong pipe is filled with alow explo- sive and the explosive is jgnited at the open end of the pipe, the explosive will start deflagrating, As it is con- sumed, the flame front moves deeper into the pipe and pressure begins to build up behind it. The pressure PHYSICS OF ENERGETIC MATERIAL DECOMPOSITIONee) Figure 4. Deflagration to detonation transfer, [ ——— buildup occurs because the decomposition 8ases have q Sreater distance to travel to get to the Pen air and because they are being generated at the point of decom Position faster than they can get out of the Pipe, This increased pressure behind the flame front acts asa hydraulic ram, forcing hot com bustion gases forward and into the explosive material, This advance of the hot combustive Bases increases the internal Pressure of the explosive material. Soon a a be 10 EXPLOSIVES ENGL NEERING. a>series of compressive waves of E duced and travel forward into the mat are characterized by a front and b: almost identical (Fig. 4A). The propagation sive waves through the explosive material 1 even more accelerated pressure and te buildup. Eventually the rate of buildup reaches: where the wave’s peak amplitude (its top) is ¢ to a speed faster than the leading edge of the 4B). As the peak of the wave overtakes its lea it no longer is a compressive wave but has becom shock wave, which is characterized by an almost i tancous pressure rise at its front (Fig. 4C). At this pom the explosive material's decomposition is through deto- nation, which is caused by the shock wave. The phe- nomenon just described is most often referred to as a Deflagration to Detonation Transfer (DDT). DETONATION The detonation of an energetic materialisa shock- wave initiated, self propagating process in which the axial compressive effect of a juxtapositioned shock wave produces a change of state in the energetic material. What a mouthful! One way to look at this 1s to visualize the shock wave as something that slams into the explo- sive so hard and so fast that the explosive material ean- not move out of the way. As a result, the energy that would have moved the material instead causes it to undergo certain changes. ‘This change of state results in an exothermic chemical decomposition (heabis given off). This decomposition then moves through the explosive at a rate proportional to the speed of the shock wave, and it keeps the shock wave moving on in front of it. ‘Although it is the shock wave that moves through the energetic material, another way of viewing detonation is to consider the shock wave as being stationary and the energetic material as being in motion, In this way the shock wave is like a hill and the explosive material like a PHYSICS OF ENERGETIC MATERIAL DECOMPOSITIONWNDETONATED ExPLOstvE | SHOCK FRONT —— i Schaal aa Figure 6. Shock wave. rod moving toward the hill, Ifthe wave has the shape ofa compression Wave, as in Figure 4A, itis like a smooth hill that the material can easily pass over, resulting in no detonation. However, if the shock wave is like a hill that has a steep forward side, as in Figure AC, the material will slam into the cliff. ‘instead of Passing over the hill, The shock of slamming into the cliff puts energy into the taterial faster than the material can deform; as a result, the explosive begins to undergo chemical One of the interesting things about nature is tha; lothing is simple, and that holds true for the detonation . The example of the hill with the Steep front side ut it does not go into enough detail to really EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERINGEUONEAKY SEAGELOM ZONE AAEDACTION 2oae, URE PROFILE Figure 6. The detonation process. xplain what is happening in the detonation better understand what is happening during d tion, we will freeze the detonation proce: view the explosive material as being subdivided basic pressure zones. There are those who would that a more accurate description of the six zone: be to base their classification on the material d each zone. For our engineering needs, howeve view the subdivision as six areas in which the undergoing different changes. The most important subdivision is the area w. shock-induced steady decomposition is t referred to as the initial reaction or detonation 6). In the illustration the direction of detonation i: left to right; therefore, to the right also front. Thus the initial reaction zone shock-wave front and to its rear th shock-wave front is that very small portion | sive where the detonation wave exists, T PHYSICS OF ENDRGETIC MATERIALJouquet plane) is that point where the oa reaction zone changes drastically, of the initial See zone has its si pressures at the shock front and lowest at its aah It isin this initial reaction zone that the bulk ‘of shock-wave energy is generated, which in turn sup- the propagation of the shock front. The rear edge of ‘the initial reaction zone, the C-J plane, marks the divid- ing line between steady and nonsteady decomposition. TW make things more accurate for the academician, if the energetic material is homogenous there is the possibility that, decomposition will be completed in the initial reac- tion zone, but it ain’t likely. The zone behind the initial reaction zone is one thatis rather interesting and is best explained using the concept of material density. Assuming that there is no loss of mate- tial or change in volume in the initial reaction zone (remember, you cannot destroy material; you can only change it from one form to another), then the density of the material after detonation must equal the density before and during detonation. 'rom the pressure profile in Figure 6, itis evident that the density of the material in the initial reaction zone is very high. To balance things out, the rar- efaction zone just behind the initial reaction zone must have a very low density or a very low pressure. Toward the rear of the rarefaction zone the pressure begins to build again until the secondary reaction zone is reached, where undeionated material undergoes decomposition. Por many high explosives, the initial shock-induced . decomposition will not be uniform, and as a result som: of the explosive material will remain undecompns 5 ei? after the initial reaction zone has passed its location. ae material left in this secondary reaction zone may unde: . gea local detonation or it may experience a form of ra a deflagration. What happens in the secondary renchion uone is largely a fanction of the strength of the initiatin, shock wave and the quality and homogeneity of the eno, getic material. These are key issues for those who wigh eS 14 EXPLOSIVES ENGINERRINGto design am explosive train ¢ Regardless of the decomposition m uct of the secondary reaction zone is For engineering purposes, these three {ne shock-wave front are the most important; there are also three zones jn frontoft! Farthest in front 1s the unreacted explasiu: zone. Here the material is undisturbed andis: temperature and pressure. Just behind this initial pressure buildup zone, where the mat experiences any change due to the detonation pr Between this zone and the shock-wave front is the p sure ramp zone, Where the material first begins to eape= sieace an accelerated paildup in pressure just prior to the shock-wave front slamming into it. It is difficult to picture the detonation process. Perhaps one way would be to consider a large, long cylin~ der of explosive material lying on its side and you are 2a observer ingide it, For this example time will be slowed way down so that as you stand there, you can see, hear, and feel the detonation as it passes your position. At first there is no sound; your only sensation that detonation is 4aking place off to your leftis that pressure begins to build up around you. ‘Allofa sudden the pressure jorps sky high, there ig a great deal of heat, and everything around you 1s breaking apart and turning inte @ vapor or gas. Just as you start to get your pearings, the pressure” drops almost as fast as it had risen. ‘Soon you begin to tee" the pressure ! owly building pack up and you: can see chunks of explosive material tumbling about like leave pehinda fast-moving car ona country lane. These chi of material are all in the process of undergoing their ow little detonation process or deflagration. At last the pres” sure begins to drop t ‘normal and, as the dust settles, you realize you have experienced detonation. Before we leave this discussion Of deflagration ant detonation, it3s necessary to point ont {hat there no clear division between these two explosive processes: * Te OW TNERGETIC MATERIAL pECcoMPOsITl* DEPLAGRATION TIME Figure 7. Explosive pressure curves, ity, there is a large number of processes that fall een the two end conditions of deflagration and deto- Figure 7 illustrates this through a plot of pressure time. These are the same pressure curves we have en looking at, only this time they are backward. Ue you from left to right the detonation curve is like acliff face and the doflagration curve is like a gentle hillside.Chapter Three EXPLOS]I MATERIAL | CHEMISTRY — tis important to understand wh happening physically when : : getic material decomposes. To "ag wore complete picture ofthe . however, you must unders' what is happening chemica ing decomposition. To unveil thi of explosives, We must go in —— the oxplosive and jook at the i vidual compounds to see how they interact. Close att tion must be given to compounds that ‘ the decomposition. starts, how th theix basic elements, and then how they recom form new compounds. The key factor during thi cal process, from an explosives perspective, | gy that is released. FUEL-OXIDIZER RELATIONSHIPS The principal ingredient: i dizers, and special fuels that make it easier to qnaterial (often ca 1 sives chemist this would be too simplistic a Stal for an explosives engineer it 18 accurate eno the basic interaction of explosive ingredients.going into more chemistry than is needed, _ ction of basic explosive ingredients can be ed with two of the eager ae atlas gun. wde! idizing chemical in black powder is potas- FF econo gand one of the fuels is carbon (C). In {he reaction process, the components of the oxidizer are separated and recombined with the carbon. The chemi- cal equation for this process is as follows: 2KNO3+ C3 = K,CO3 + CO, + CO + No Because potassium nitrate supplies concentrated oxy- gen to the carbon, the temperature given off in forming carbon dioxide (CO.) and carbon monoxide (CO) is much greater than ordinary combustion, where the oxygen (O) ig supplied by the air. Also, the rate at which the decom- position takes place is much faster because of the concen- trated oxygen, and thus usable pressures are produced. If we were to add the third chemical found in black powder, sulphur (5), a different decomposition process would take place. The components of the oxidizer are sep- arated and recombined with the carh ‘on and the sulphur. ‘This results in the formation of a small amount of solid residue called potassium sulphite (KS), large amounts of the gas carbon dioxide (CO), and smaller amounts of the Sas nitrogen Np, Written in the language of chemists, the decompasition of ganpowder would be as follows: KNO3+Si8C = KS +3C0, gunpowder solid 5m gases ue temperat, oF) Sensitizer the sulphur is the Bae oe ae Asa : aes z tin the explo- Sive mixture to ignite, and it does So at ee + o a input than the potassium nitrate and tale oe This means that the sulfur facilitates 4 Bahon eae e apowder, or makes it more sensitive. One final thought in this fuel/oxidizer relation! to point out that oxidization is not moving oxy! petween elemonts. It is true that for most éxplosis jeal reactions with which the explosives engineer work, oxygen is the key element in oxidization. In a true chemical sense, however, an oxidizer is something that gains electrons or Jowers its oxidization number in a reat 4ion, Which means that it does not have to involve oxygen. ENERGY AND BY-PRODUCTS All this chemistry is somewhat ofa pain, but under- standing the basics js vital if correct explosive mixtures are to be formed. For example, in making an explosive, it js important to combine the right amount of oxidizer with the right amount of. fuel, One way of looking at this is to take a piece of paper and place it inside of aglassjar swith a id. Now, if you conld light the paper (by magic), it would purn until all the air in the jar was gone or until all the paper was purned. [f you picked just the right- sized jar and just the right-sized piece of paper, you would have both the air and the paper run out at exactly the same time. If this happened you would have the amountof air and paper jn perfect balance. ‘As in the air and paper example, there 1s also a rela- tionship between the explosive ingredients fuel and oxi- dizer. The optimum yatio is one that provides just enough oxidizer to com pletely oxidize all the fuel, At this zero-oxygen-balance mixture, the energetic material wil decompose with a maximum energy release and a mini- mum amount of fumes. é ; If you do not have a bal anced explosive mixture, there are two things that can happen. One is a loss of energy; that js to say, you donot get as much bang a8 you could have gotten. ifyou hada balanced mixture. The second possibi lity is even Worse: not only will you lose power but you will produce 8 lot of fumes, Many of the fumes yesulting from an out-of-balance explosive + MLB VIge RyFigure 8. Relative energy released in detonation. mixture can be hazardous to your health. Wfit were possible to form an energetic material from pure clements of fucl and oxidizer, a Zero-oxygen- balance mixture would be casy to obtain. This is not the case, however. For example, the most common oxi- dizers used in commercial explosives are ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and caleium nitrate, all of which have the oxidizer element oxygen (O) combined ‘with other elements. When an energetic material con- taining these oxidizers undergoes decomposition, some of the oxygen is used up in production of energy rob- bing compounds such as NO, No.0, and NOb. As was ‘said earlier, this results in an overall reduction in ener- By release and often in the production of toxic fumes. __ The common commercial high-explosive oxidizer, 2 ium nitrate (AN), in combination with tha fuel, (CHo), or in combination with the sensitizing aluminum (Al), can be used to demonstrate energy. ationships. Equations 1 through 3 below showzero-oxygen-bal Equation 1 is for a zero-onye provides a reference energy release of z (the ix stands for hilo and represents 1,0 ja for a fuel-rieh or exeess-fuel condition and 0.5k joule per gram reduction in energy iquation 8 is for an oxidizer-rich condition ( oxidizer), which has a 0.1k joule per gram reduc energy release. This indicates that if one were t an ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) explosive, it he better to err on the side of too much oxidizer (ammoni- uum nitrate or fertilizer) than too much fuel (Fuel oil). EQUATION COMPOUND ENG-RELIGRAM zero-oxygen-balance (1) 94.5% oxidizer to 5.5% fuel 3NH,NOz + CH,—* 7Hz0 + 002+ 8M 2,891 joules fuel rich (2) 92.0% oxidizer to 8.0% fuel ONH,NO + CHy— 5HL0 + CO +2No 3,889 joules oxidizer rich (3) 96.6% oxidizer to 3.4% fuel BNE \NO3+ CH) 11H,0 + COn+4Ny+ 2NO 2,510 joules with sensitizing fuel (A) 81.6% AN to 18.4% Al 3NH,NOs + 2Al~ 61,0 + ALOs 43N, 6,778 joules f energy release for ‘The last equation in our review 0} the explosive ANFO incorporates the addition of a spe- cial fuck or sensitizer, aluminum (A), With the addition of aluminum there is a 5k joule increase in energy yeleased. Although aluminum would not be used as the ole Fuel, it and/or magnesium are added to an. energetic. Cen eS CORTE Let seesincrease energy release. asic explosive materials where zero- easily controlled, the most common ted with energetic ac, ae oxygen, ‘nitrogen (N), hydrogen (11), carbon \%.> uminum en (Me) Of course these elements will components of a compound made up of other ele- ents, In the decomposition of an energetic material that contains the elements O,N, H, and C, the gaseous products of detonation would be H20, CO, and No. For energetic materials that contain Aland Mg as sensitiz- ing fuels, decomposition will form stable solid com- pounds of their oxides. A graphical representation of this difference in ener- gy release, by common products of decomposition of ener- getic materials, is shown in Figure 8, The energy-robbing , ‘nitrogen-oxygen compound bars are drawn below the horizontal axis to represent the fact that they absorb heat (enerzy) rather than release it. The two large bars on the right side of the chartillustrate the energy- t release increase resulting from the use of special sensi- tizing fuels (Al and Mg), It is not important to fully understand the chemistry of what is happening. What is important is to understand the relationship between fuels, oxidizers, and sensitizers. EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERING»> Jf _» xplosives are compounds Pi we tures of compounds, each 0 oS has its own unique prope! ~ explosives explosive with the missi eae sive tha stump out of the ciently cut the steel rail of a railroad line. The sections cover the pasic physical properties of ag listed below: DENSITY DETONATION VELOCITY DETONATION PRE STRENGTH. ENERGY BRISANCE PHYSICS OF EXPLOSIVESe perfect explosive mixture has hes an ideal geometric configura- a theoretical detonation velocity and pressure. The theoretical detonation velocity ent on chemical composition, bulk densi- ature, pressure, catalytic influences, and the the initiation process. The following equa- stablich a working relationship between detona- pressure, detonation velocity, and the density of the mixture: ation 1 ‘Py= (2.325 x107)x2,.xVz where:Pq = detonation pressure in lsilobars a= detonation velocity in feet per second d, = density in grams per cubic centimeter £quation 2 Py=(2.5x%10*)x@.x Vy where:P, = detonation pressure in kilobars Va= detonation velocity in meters per second @. = density in grams per cubic centimeter Equation ? Vq = 3810 (0.392 +@,) where: V j= detonation velocity in meters per second @ .= density in grams per cubic centimeter To convert from bars to pounds 0 per si multiply bars by 14.5. ae EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERINGDENSITY The density of a substance is its mass per) (m/V). In other words, a substance’: density is: per cubic foot, kilograms per eubie meter, or; cubic centimeter, In almost all references dealin: explosives material, the density of explosives is grams per cubic centimeter, which is labeled g/ec. Tt important for the serious explosives engineer to realize that in almost all situations, density refers {o initial den- sity, 2}. As soon as detonation occurs, the density of the explosive begins to change throughout. To make this problem workable, however, density (@,) will always be the initial density of the explosive charge. From equations 1 and 21t would appear that as you. jnereage the density of an explosive you will increase the detonation velocity (Vd) and the detonation pressure (Pa). Tn reality, as you increase the density of a single-compo- nent explosive, you will increase the detonation velocity wo until the components erystal density is reached. ‘An easier way of looking at this is to take a large erys- tal, such as quartz, and break it into many small pieces: If you could, magically seatter these pieces throughout a Le 1' x 1' box, the density for the quariz would be very low. Now if you bring the crystal pieces closer together so they are all touching one another, the density of the quartz increases, Ifyou were to now put the erushed quartz into a press and squeeze jt, you would increase the density as the pressure. However, you could not reach 4 density greater than. the original density of the quartz crystal (its crystal density) pefore you broke it. Figure 9 illustrates the change in detonation velocity (lem/sec) with change in density (g/cc) for some secondary explosives. Figure 10 illustrates the change in detona- tion velocity with change in de nsity for some primary explosives. (Secondary and primary explosives will be covered later in the text.) Jn some engineering applications, not be using 4 single-component explosive the engineer will but explosives 4 pHYSICS OF EXPLOSIVES 25! a 6.5 1 Derisity (g/cc) Sis. ‘9. Detonation velocities for secondary explosives. Johunsson and Persson, 1970.) f two or more components. In most cases one will be oxygen-rich and the other oxygen- a fuel). When using multicom; ponent explo- Increase the density of the explosive you the detonation velocit; —up toa point. in density will result in a reduction in elocity (see Figure 11). were simple, equations 1, 2, and 3 would(km/3ec) Velocity ie) a gS a > x = ® 6 oe Boe @ a 3 ee | ae r AG, 2 AGNO | ( enipeaaes Q.8 475) pensity (g/cc). Figure 10. Detonation velocities for prim (Adapied from Johansson and Persson, density, . essed into a Con! : ear Pre the density you should be able to: PHYSICS OF EXPLOSIVES| SOAN / 10AL Peet tek a As 3 | (4 4 Density (g/cc) ‘Figure 11, Detonation velocity vs, density for two-camponent explo- Swe compourids. (Adapted from Johansson and Persson, 7870.) velocity and pressure. This is true up toa point, because ifthe explosive mixture becomes too dense it will not _ Support the formation of hot spots, and the mixture is t amount (in pounds) of loaded foot of hole. Another field applica. Ly is in the traditional density/stick count, EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERINGwi me density/stick countis a relations! density of the explosive and the number. g.inch cartridges contained in a 50-pound ye noted, however, that there are few if an: §-inch cartridges being manufactured in the States today. : DETONATION VELOCITY As was covered earlier under deflagration and detona- tion, the detonation velocity of an explosive is the. at which the detonation wave moves through the explo- sive. For most of today’s commercial explosives, detona: 4ion velocity ranges from ahout 5,000 fps for ANFO to more than 22,000 fps for high explosives stich as cast 50/0 Pentolite. It should also be noted that every explo- sive compound will have a maximum or ideal detonation velocity, which is referred to as its hydrodynamic velocity. One ofthe factors that produces a change mm detona- tion velocity (as we have covere a) is the density of the explosive material. A second parameter that influences detonation velocity is the diameter of the explosive charge. In general, as the diameter of an explosive charge is increased, the detonation velocity is also increased. This continues until the explosive’s hydrody- namic velocity is reache d, In the reverse case, a9 the charge diameter iS reduced, the detonation velocity will be reduced toa point at which the charge cam m0 longer support detonation. The point at which detonation no longer occurs is referred to as the explosives critical diameter (D,). Figure 12 jlhustrates the change in deto- Tation. velocity with change in charge diameter for com- mon explosives. DETONATION PRESSURE AND EXPLOSIVE PRESSURE Detonation pressure ig that pressure experienced at the front edge of the initial reaction zone. Equations 1 ee and 2 establish a relationship between detonation press us PHYSICS OF EXPLOSIVES:SENT-GELAT}N 455 CULE BLUE a LOY VEL sERnISsIBLe e He oe tel Dish cl | 4d Bs 5 oe 9 CHARGE DIAMETER (1¥) Detonation velocity versus charge diameter. iy, and detonation velocity. There ig another ng detonation pressure in terms of det- and explosive particle velocity, as shown, Because it is almost impossible to of explosive particles in the air it due to dust and expanding ages), BYPLOSIVES promeepone.V, is determined from underwater de Equation 4 Pq =C,xVaxVe where: Pq = detonation pressure in kilobars: Vq = detonation velocity in feet per @,, = density in grams per cubic centim: V, = explosive particle velocity ininches — per second : As was stated earlier, the detonation pressure will = shatter objects rather than push them aside. A measure ofthis shattering potential is referred to as the explo- sive’s brisance. 4 is important not to confuse detonation pressure with explosion pressure. Explosion pressure 18 associated with the walls of the containing medium after the shock wave has passed. This is the pressure that enters cracks in the confining medium and pushes the material apart. Itis also the pressure that expands hot gases outward, forcing material to be moved or thrown from the area where the explosion took place. ‘The explosion pressure is about one- half of the maximum detonation pressure. EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH The strength of an explosive is defined as a mea- sure of its energy content and the amount of work it is forming. Historically, strength has had its greatest application in defining different grades of dynamite. In this role, strength yating was used as an identification warking on containers of explosives: Ta reality, however, there is no accurate Means of mea vg strength, nor do atrength classi- suring an explosives p fications reveal how well an explosive will work under all conditions. i For ali practical purposes, modern explosive nomen- clature totally disregards the concept of'strength ch _ area OF EXPLOSIVESer, because it still has applications for ysives, such as dynamites, we will review the , traditional definitions. One definition is ength, or the percentage by weight. af nitroglyc- ‘erin in the dynamite. For more modern dynamites it is hased on a comparison of the new explosive with the old, straight dynamite. The second definition is bulk strength, which was an attempt to take into considera- tion the influence of density. The device used to develop strength classifications is the ballistic mortor. The ballistic mortar is a small can- non suspended ona pendulum. It is loaded with 10 grams of explosive, and the resultant swing of the pendu- tum, upon inifiation of the explosive, is compared to the swing of the pendulum when 10 grams of straight dyna- { mite is used. The limited flexibility of the test makes it difficult to compare an explosive whose density varies significantly from straight dynamite. EXPLOSIVE ENERGY Explosive energy is a measure of the energy released from the decomposition of an explosive mixture. One way to define explosive energy is to express it as calories per gram (cal/g). Different manufacturers may use different units, but they all are some form of energy per unit. This method of defining explosive energy is calculated direct- ly from the mixture’s formula, Asecond method of expressing explosiv: i to equate the reaction of the aka ee. a the detonation of the explosive. In Simplistic terms. this method requires measuring how much suaberial was thrown and how fast it was moving, This is not an easy task, and itis influenced by the navure of the rock being blasted. Also, this is not a widely accepted stan. dard for measuring explosive energy, and thug tanee ca engineers need concern themselves on] ly Ss oe ae of-formation values expressed in caloriesBRISANCE Brisance is a measure of a high exp! shatter a given material, usually san 0.40 grams of the explosive are buried special sand. The explosive js detonated an of sand that has been shattered is used as an ind of the brisance of the explosive. Other methods measure brisance are: the plate dent test, where the of the dent produced by the explosive is used as cation of brisance; the copper cylinder contraction where the reduction in length after the explosive been detonated on top of the cylinder indicates brisancé and the explosive projectile test, where the number, size distribution, and fragment velocity of an expladed pra- jectile are used to indicate brisance. SENSITIVITY In the introduction to this book, I stated that there are four basic methods of initiating or starting explosive decomposition. Because we are interested primarily in detonation, the preferred method for initiation is through a shoek wave that is of sufficient velocity to cause our explosive charge to undergo detonation. Thus our interpretation of sensitivity is “the relative amount of shock energy required to cause an explosive to deto- nate.” For basic applications, the source of the detona- tion shock wave is a standard blasting-cap-type initia- tion device. =e Tn designing an explosive mixture, the aim is to make it sensitive to shock initiation from a blasting cap bat relatively insensitive to other forms of initiation such as heat, friction, and impact. One of the most prevalent methods of identifying design sensitivi ty is to measure it by the size of blasting cap required to initiate the explo- sive. The standard in the United States is the No. 3 blasting cap. 4 more accurate Jaboratory means of deter- mining sensitivity is to use a fixed amount of standard primary explosive such as PETN. aarvetdg OF EXPLOSIVESrelative to explosive sensitivity is explosive Explosive sensitiveness is a measure of an ability to propagate detonation across an air pier es this is to divide a 1 1/4-inch p ch stick of dynamite in half and separate (end to end) the two halves by a fixed distance, One of the halves is then initiated and a determination is made if the sec- ond halfwas initiated over the air gap. This is continued at varying distances until the maximum distance Gn inches) over which the initiated half stick will cause the second half to detonate is determined. This maximum distance is a measure of the explosive’s sensitiveness, FLAMMABILITY Flammability is much like sensitivity; it is a determi- nation of an explosive's sensitivity to being ignited by heat. This is a relative measure of the amount of heat it takes to cause the explosive to burn but not detonate. Where is a level of heat that, if reached, will cause the explosive to detonate; it is referred to as the critical tem- perature of the explosive. PERMISSIBILITY Permissibility is a go/no-go measure of an explosive’s ability to be used safely in underground #aseous mines. That is to say, an explosive is either a permissible or itis not a permissible. Permissible explosives are designed to minimize the temperature, volume, and duration of their flames, By reducing the explosive’s lame Parameters, it reduces the likelihood of the flame igniting gas or dusts in the mine. Permissibles find their greatest application. in coal mines, where methane gas and coal dust are a real hazard. WATER RESISTANCE The water resistance of an explosive is a measure of how many hours it can remain submerged in still watey and still be detonated. Basical ly, this ig a measure of how a 34 EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERINGyell an explosive keeps water from | dients and decaying their sensitivity. the explosive package or wrapper a she explosive itself are employed in keep from penetrating the explosive. This measurem: relative terms of good, fair, poor, etc. This important to realize that the test to de explosiye’s water resistance is conducted in tively pure water and at low pressures, In the fie water that fills blast holes may be acidic and, at the tom of the hole, the hydrostatic pressure may be very high (depending on the depth of the water). FUME CLASSIFICATION In the industrial application of explosives, the gaseous by-products of an explosion are referred to as smoke and fumes. Smoke is made up primarily of steam and solid products of combustion. Fumes, on the other hand, are the gases of combustion such as carbon mono ide. Those of interest in generating fume classification are toxic (see Fig. 8). There are two classification schemes for industrial explosives—one for permissibles and the other for nonper- missibles, Permissibles are classified as Class A ifthey produce 0-53 liters of noxipus gases per 1 1/2 pounds of explosive. Permissibles are classified as Class B if they produce 54-106 liters of noxious gases per 1 1/2 pounds of explosive. Nonpermissibles are classified as Class Lifthey produce 0. 00-0.16 cubic feet of noxious gases per cartridge of explosive. Nonpermissibles are classified as Class out they produce (.17-0.88 cubic feet of noxious gases per car- tridge of explosive- Nonpermissibles are classified as 3 if they produce 0.34-0.67 cubic feet of noxious gases per cartridge of explosive. CHARGE SHAPE So far in our treatment of explosives, all explosive mixtures were taken to be cylindrical. In thig geometric PHYSICS OF EXPLOSIVES